Homemade lifestyle includes artworks

April 05, 2009|HOWARD DUKES Tribune Staff Writer

Living in harmony with the land is a way of life for Jon Hook and Andrea Peterson. Growing and canning their food is just one way the couple tries to live in concert with the community that they call home. In fact, the desire to find a simpler way to live brought Hook and Peterson to LaPorte County from Chicago. Practices such as finding and using locally produced or grown products weren't always easy to do in Chicago, Hook and Peterson say. "That has always been our dream, and we tried to do that when were living in Chicago," Peterson says. In 1997, Hook and Peterson relocated to 11 acres in rural LaPorte County to pursue that goal. The couple's desire to live harmoniously with nature also influences Hook's and Peterson's art, which is on exhibit through April 23 in a joint show at Fire Arts Inc. in South Bend. Hook is a ceramist who specializes in pottery making, while Peterson's skills include paper-making. For many years, Hook has eschewed using gas-heated kilns to fire the pots that he makes. Instead, Hook built wood-burning kilns. The process Hook uses to fire his pots creates a glaze that gives the vessels a distinctive look. "The wood is actually going into the chamber (of the kiln) pretty much next to where the pots are," Hook says. The wood burns as the temperature inside the kiln rises, Hook says. Ash is created as a result, and the airflow inside the kiln deposits the ash onto the pot. The pots created as a result of this process have a sheen. "It gets sticky and sticks to the surface (of the pot) and melts as it reaches a higher temperature," he says. Peterson creates paper products that can be used for wall decoration or that can be made into high-quality stationery and invitations. She makes paper out of the plants that grow in the area and even out of used clothes given to her by neighbors. "The fiber is then processed, or cooked down, and then it is put in a vat of water and drained through a sieve," Peterson says. "And that creates a sheet of paper." Hook and Peterson say that living more simply is not easy. "It's very labor intensive," Hook says. "You have to go out and collect your own fuel, and it's a year-round process." For example, Hook does not chop down trees to get the wood to fire his kilns. "We usually get wood from trees that have died or fallen," he says. "I recently got a lot of trees from a farmer who was clearing a field, and I also work with a lot of tree services." The paper Peterson makes comes from plants that grow in the area, such as day lilies, wheat straw and milkweed. Peterson says that getting the plants is more than a matter of just picking them when they begin to grow or bloom. Neighbors often give Peterson the wheat straw, she says. "When I collect the milkweed, I wait until the growing season is over, and the bees have done their thing and the butterflies have hatched their eggs and then there's just the stalk out in the field," she says. The couple also tries to work in harmony with each other, Peterson says. "We both have to work together," Peterson says. "This is not a singular activity." That means many of the small pots made by Hook are often used on the family's dinner table. The tall, earth-toned pot that is on display as a part of the exhibit could be a decorative vessel. But even those pots can have practical uses, Hook says. A tall pot could be used to collect rain water, for example,. Peterson could use the water collected in those pots to make more paper, something she says she has always relished. "We really enjoy making things from scratch," she says. Peterson says she first became interested in paper-making in college. "I chanced upon a class in making paper, and since I have always been interested in making my own tools, I thought it would be great to learn how to make paper," she says. "It's real close to cooking and canning, which I enjoy, so (paper-making) seemed to be something natural for me to be a part of." Peterson knows that many people believe the creative process begins when they write or draw on a piece of paper. For Peterson, the creative process includes making the paper as well. "It's very physical, but there is something magical about transforming these tiny fibers into a piece of paper that people can draw on, print on or write a letter on or make into a sculpture."Staff writer Howard Dukes: hdukes@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6369